Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton Friday unveiled a $12.1-billion takeover of US firm Petrohawk Energy Corp. that will give it access to the lucrative US shale gas market.
BHP will pay $38.75 a share, giving the deal a total value of $15.1 billion including Petrohawk's debt, in a deal that will allow BHP access to shale assets in Texas and Louisiana, the two companies said in a statement.
“The proposed acquisition of Petrohawk is consistent with our ... strategy and provides us with even greater exposure to the world’s largest energy market, while also broadening our geographic and customer spread,” BHP chief executive Marius Kloppers said.
Petrohawk's Eagle Ford and Haynesville shales and its Permian Basin resources cover 1,000,000 net acres (400,000 hectares) in Texas and Louisiana and boasted proved reserves of 3.4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas equivalent in 2010.
The Houston-based firm expects to produce the equivalent of 158,000 barrels of oil a day in 2011, has around $8.2 billion in gross assets and posted a $390 million pre-tax profit for the year to December 2010.
The acquisition follows BHP's purchase earlier this year of US-based Chesapeake Energy Corp.' shale gas holdings in Arkansas state, along with some pipeline assets, for about $4.75 billion in cash.
Oil and gas companies have been homing in on shale gas acquisitions as they bank on increasing demand spurred by the long-term prospects for the United States to cut its dependence on overseas natural resource imports.
BHP said it would be on track to deliver compound annual production growth of more than 10 percent for the rest of the decade as it develops its shale gas and deepwater resources.
The Petrohawk board has unanimously recommended to Petrohawk shareholders that they accept the offer, the firms said.
“We believe these premium oil and natural gas assets would benefit significantly by residing within a larger entity that can employ more capital intensity to accelerate their realised value,” said Petrohawk chief Floyd Wilson.
“We are excited to see this transaction completed and to be part of the BHP Billiton organisation,” he said of the deal under which BHP will retain Petrohawk's staff.
The deal is expected to close within the next three months. - Sapa-AFP